Alpineart's Blog

These are a series of layers that were set in Spring last year . I had 2 choices , set layers or remove the borer infected tree .With nothing to loose i decided to set some layers and see how the go .This was another trial as most things i do .I use numerous methods over several seasons to gain the best outcome .The medium used was 50%  Scoria  and  50% Spagnum Moss on the lower larger trunks and 80% scoria and 20% Spagnum Moss on the 3 upper layers . The success with the 50/50 mix was very good the other mixes failed to produce any roots , however they did callous up .

Last year i used a Spagnum Moss only mix on a different tree and all but 1 produced roots . The tree itself was sun burnt on one side this contributed may have contributed to the fungul growth which basically ring barked the layers , the cheap duct tape gum may have also been a contributer as it was used to seal the containers around the trunks .I did managed to save 3 of the layers from last year , i simply potted them up , placed them in the green house over winter and hoped for the best .

With a quick selective trim these were potted up , the 3 layers on the Right have only calloused up around the area treated for layering  . I did notice with these  upper layers that Slaters and Millipedes had made a home in the pots .This could possibly be the reason no roots were present as they would have had a party on the new roots . These will now be placed into a green house and left to their own recovery. I have another tree with set layers so i will be interesting to see the results from those .They are on  the tree layered off last year , these trunks are much larger and require some assistance to remove safely .Cheers Alpineart

This was put together for the  Native Competition last year  on the Ausbonsai forum  . The vertical rock is constructed from Villa Board/Cladding . The construction of the rock took several days and dozens of pieces cut and shaped , then glued together to form the base .I then rendered it with an acrylic render in various colours  , allowing each coat to harden then applying more render  to give it the texture required . with the coating finished a sealer was applied . I have reworked and restyled this project by adding another older fig to the side of the landscape .  It is a sister tree to the main top tree which itself has  been rotated  and  reset  ,  the roots were repositioned into  a more vertical arrangement The moss has concealed most of the lower roots however it will remain in place until they grow down into the water tray.

Whilst the smaller tree’s were cuttings from the original trunks they have progressed very slow .They will be removed over winter and a third tree will be added to the lower right void following the contour of the rock  . This tree is a multiple fused trunk taken from the cuttings and requires complete fusing and some added ramification before it is added .Next year it will have a new look  . All up i’m happy with its progression since May 2010 . Cheers Alpineart